Tim Chiarolanza's brain injury recovery did not look like anyone expected, including the doctor who gave him a 1% chance of living.

In November 2021, Tim was a strength and conditioning coach in Bucks County when a freak accident left him fighting for his life. Three days after surviving being hit by a car, his brain bled and swelled without warning, and doctors told his wife and father to plan a funeral. He has no memory of the 7 weeks that followed.

On episode 13 of Backstage Bucks County, Tim joins longtime friend Matt Freedman to walk through the accident, the coma, the week he spent convinced he was dreaming, and the slow work of relearning how to walk, talk, and live. He also introduces the Today Effect, the four daily anchors (purpose, action, presence, connection) that keep him grounded, and explains why his foundation, Triumph in Recovery, exists to support survivors and their caregivers.

00:00 A 1% chance and 7 missing weeks
01:38 Growing up in Bucks County together
03:30 Finding strength and conditioning
06:24 Why Tim tells parents to stop specializing their kids
15:48 The night everything changed
22:58 A doctor tells the family to plan a funeral
25:46 Waking up and thinking it's all a dream
30:59 Changing the question from why to what now
36:54 Getting his license back and his independence
39:03 Why caregivers need as much support as survivors
41:36 The Today Effect explained
51:23 Different person, same core
53:22 What people can't see about a brain injury
59:50 A hometown show steps up for the foundation
1:06:56 The book Tim is writing and how to help

About Backstage Bucks County: hosted by Matt Freedman, entrepreneur, musician, and founder of Rhythm, LLC, the show spotlights the entrepreneurs, musicians, creatives, and business leaders shaping Bucks County. Produced inside Rhythm, a Bucks County content studio.

Learn more about Tim's foundation, get involved, or donate at triumphinrecovery.com.

Guest: Tim Chiarolanza, co-founder and president of Triumph in Recovery. Instagram @TimChiarolanza. Foundation Instagram @Triumph_in_Recovery.

Thank you to FTL Bags for sponsoring this episode.
Go to https://www.ftlbags.com/

#BackstageBucksCounty #TriumphInRecovery #BrainInjuryRecovery #TBIAwareness #BucksCountyPodcast

🎙 Backstage Bucks County – Episode 12 with Nicolas and Stephen Servis

Host: Matt Freedman — Founder of Rhythm & Award-Winning Country Artist
Guest: Nicolas and Stephen Servis
Recorded at Rhythm Studios, New Hope, PA

Episode 11 of Backstage Bucks County welcomes the Servis Bros! Nicolas and Stephen Servis are the owners of Servis Events, a private dining service that offers health-focused meals made with locally-sourced ingredients of the highest quality.

After being forced to leave their restaurant jobs due to COVID, the identical twins start their own food business based Bucks County. From animal butchery, gardening, growing under lights, tapping maple trees for syrup, raising bees and spinning the honey, making their own hot sauces & vinegars, to foraging for garnish- these bros have perfected the process of pairing delicous, natural meals with luxury service.

Read more about the Servis Bros and their mission here:

Our education started at Middle Bucks Institute of Technology where we were both enrolled in the Culinary Arts program. After completion, we went on to get our associates degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Bucks County Community College. The rest was taught in the kitchen.

We both truly became deeply interested in the farm-to-table world when holding chef de partie positions at The Mainland Inn. Yes, we have worked in a lot of the same restaurants! We did full animal butchery, gardening, growing under lights, tapping maple trees for syrup, raising bees and spinning the honey, making our own hot sauces & vinegars, foraging for garnish and such. We were in our own little heaven of a restaurant. When volunteering at Quarry Hill Farm, Stephen was told about the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) program, a pitch that said you could travel for free, as long as you offer your work to the farmers in exchange for housing and meals. Well, five years later, the time was just right and we spent 2 months on Flying Pond Farm in Vienna, Maine in the summer of 2020. That’s where this whole idea became just a distant reality.

After countless conversations with the farmer and his family (Harold and the Grams), we had somewhat of a plan of attack for when we returned home to start cooking these private events. After a little bit of revising, we had our vision!

📚 Resources & Links
Website: servis-events.com
Instagram: @servisevents
Facebook: Servis Events

Follow Matt Freedman & Backstage Bucks County
Website: MattFreedmanmusic.com
YouTube: ‪@mattfreedmanmusic‬
Instagram: @MattFreedmanmusic, @backstagebuckscounty
Tiktok: @backstagebuckscounty
Website: MattFreedmanmusic.com

🎙 Backstage Bucks County – Episode 11 with Dr. Beth Kalplan

Host: Matt Freedman — Founder of Rhythm & Award-Winning Country Artist
Guest: Dr. Beth Kaplan
Recorded at Rhythm Studios, New Hope, PA

Episode 12 of Backstage Bucks County welcomes Dr. Beth Kaplan, a life-long resident of Bucks County and author of "Braving the Workplace." Dr. Kaplan is a keynote speaker dedicated to helping employee's find belonging in the workplace. She helps organizations strengthen trust, increase retention, and build cultures rooted in psychological safety and accountability. Her research-backed keynotes translate belonging into measurable performance outcomes.


MORE ABOUT DR. BETH KAPLAN FROM HER WEBSITE:

Dr. Beth Kaplan helps leaders build high-performance cultures rooted in psychological safety and accountability.

She bridges research and real-world execution and practical frameworks leaders can implement immediately.

Her work focuses on:

• Increasing retention
• Reducing burnout
• Strengthening trust
• Improving cross-functional collaboration
• Elevating accountability

Belonging becomes the lever.
Performance becomes the outcome.

📚 Resources & Links
Website: drbethkaplan.com
Instagram: @drbethkaplan
Tiktok: @belongingdoc
Facebook: Dr. Beth Kaplan, Ed. D.
LinkedIn: Dr. Beth Kaplan
X: @DrBethKaplan

Follow Matt Freedman & Backstage Bucks County
Website: MattFreedmanmusic.com
YouTube: ‪@mattfreedmanmusic‬
Instagram: @MattFreedmanmusic, @backstagebuckscounty
Tiktok: @backstagebuckscounty
Website: MattFreedmanmusic.com